Charges have been upgraded for a 16-year-old Collingswood teen who allegedly assaulted a 46-year-old man who later died from those injuries.
By Matt Skoufalos | March 28, 2024
Mount Ephraim Walgreens. Credit: Matt Skoufalos.
(UPDATE: April 1, 2024 — 9:30 p.m.) — A Collingswood juvenile stands accused of second-degree manslaughter after a Mount Ephraim man he allegedly assaulted in a Walgreens parking lot died Sunday.
The 16-year-old, whose name was withheld by authorities because of his age, is being held in the Camden County Youth Detention Center.
The man the teen is accused of having killed is 46-year-old Mount Ephraim resident Oron Beebe, also known as Carl.
The incident occurred around 10:40 p.m. March 23 in the parking lot of the Walgreens at 20 West Kings Highway in Mount Ephraim, according to the Camden County Prosecutor’s Office (CCPO).
Mount Ephraim Police were dispatched to the scene for a report of an unconscious man, and arrived to discover Beebe, “lying on the ground, suffering from an apparent head injury,” the CCPO said. Detectives believe that he hit his head on the ground after he was allegedly struck.
On March 25, the teen was taken into custody in Cherry Hill by members of the Camden Division of the U.S. Marshals Service New York/New Jersey Regional Fugitive Task Force. Initially, the juvenile was charged with second-degree aggravated assault.
After Beebe died 1:30 a.m. March 31 at Cooper University Hospital, those charges were upgraded to second-degree manslaughter, a charge that follows a death from a reckless assault. It is punishable by 10 to 20 years in prison, and fines of as much as $150,000.
The investigation is active and ongoing at this time. A crowdfunding campaign has been organized for the victim’s family.
Anyone with information about the case is asked to contact CCPO Det. Felix Abreu (856-225-8414), Mount Ephraim Det. Sgt. Kevin Sullivan (856-931-2225). Tips may also be sent to CAMDEN.TIPS.
Anyone charged with a crime is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law. An arrest is not a conviction.
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